An Introduction to

Bearing Failure

www.osborne-engineering.com
 Fatigue

Symptoms
Hairline cracks in the whitemetal surface
around the area of applied load
Surface cracks cannot propagate into the
harder backing material so turn sideways
along bond line leading to sections of
whitemetal detaching

Causes
Excessive dynamic loads
Overheating causing a reduction in
fatigue strength
Misalignment
High Levels of vibration
Poor localised repairs

Corrective Actions
Eliminate causes of dynamic load
Review bearing alignment
Increase load carrying capacity
Consider bearing materials with higher
resistance to dynamic loads

Fatigue
 Loss of Oil Film

Symptoms
Polished band across some or all of surface
No evidence of overload on pivots or housing
No excessive wiping of whitemetal

Causes
Insufficient lubricant supply to bearing
Inappropriate lubricant type
(viscosity, temperature)
Deflect or distortion of journal pads or collars
Excessive loads during start up

Corrective Actions
Check and modify lubricant supply and type
Check collars and pads for flatness
and squareness
Check for possible overloading

Loss of Oil Film

 Scoring / Erosion

Symptoms
Score marks in surface following the direction
of motion
Erosion wear of surface roughening / dulling
of the surface

Causes
Scoring due to contaminant particles larger than
the minimum film thickness embedded into the
whitemetal layer
Erosion caused by large quantities of small
particles in the lubricant smaller than the oil film
thickness typically located near to oil entry point
High velocity lubricant flow
Atmospheric contamination via seals or breathers
Could lead to complete failure due to reduced
oil films and a reduction in the load
carrying capacity

Corrective Actions
Repair damaged running surfaces
Clean lubricant and flush surfaces before restarting
Replace and check correct filtration is being used

Scoring / Erosion
 Overload / Wiping

Symptoms
Circumferential movement (wiping) of whitemetal
Heavy scoring
Pivots show flattening or indentation
Re-solidification of whitemetal deposited in
oil grooves

Causes
Excessive load above design duties
Failure of the Hydrodynamic oil film
Oil inlet temperature too high
Incorrect oil grade used
Loading applied into oil grooves
Inadequate clearances

Corrective Actions
Reassess bearing design inputs and
operating loads
Reduce load on bearings
Increase load carrying capacity
Consider higher load bearing design such
as off-set pivot

Overload / Wiping
 Misalignment

Symptoms
Polishing pattern on one side or localized
area of babbitt surface
Localised severe wear
High localised temperature
Fatigue failure in diagonally opposed areas
in top and bottom halves

Causes
Load concentration on one area of bearing.
Due to geometry misalignment
Axial mismatch between journal and bearing
centre lines
Misalignment of bearing housing or shaft
Journal deflection under load

Corrective Actions
Re-align bearings
Switch to a more misalignment tolerant
design such as, tilting pad, equalised
thrust or self aligning bearings

Misalignment
 Overheating

Symptoms
Oil varnish / lacquer build up in hot areas
Possible local cracking and movement
of whitemetal
Discolouration of steel

Causes
Over speed / excessive load
Loss of oil film due to varnish build up
Oil inlet temperature too high
Insufficient bearing clearance
Failure of cooling / insulation mechanism

Corrective Actions
Reduce oil inlet temperature
Review cooling / insulation mechanism
Change to a more heat stable lubricant
Increase oil flow
Increase load carrying capacity

Overheating
 Thermal Ratcheting

Symptoms
Marble type relief pattern on whitemetal
surface. Typically more noticeable on
trailing (hotter) part of bearing
Crack formation between grains

Causes
Repeated thermal cycling triggering
anisotropic thermal expansion of tin crystals
within the whitemetal
Uneven thermal expansion of tin
based whitemetal
Switching from lead to tin based whitemetal

Corrective Actions
Review alloy composition to reduce grain size
Where possible minimize thermal cycling

Thermal Ratcheting
 Wire Wool Damage

Symptoms
Very heavy scoring of the whitemetal surface
in short time period
Hard scabs of material embedded into the
whitemetal surface

Causes
Failure initiated by small particles of dirt
embedding into the bearing surface
Shaft material containing chromium or
manganese in the region of 2% - 14% are
incompatible with whitemetal
Long tern exposure to water in oil can lead
to scab formation (tin oxide)
Most aluminium bronzes are incompatible
with whitemetal

Corrective Actions
Change journal or collar material to mild steel
Hard chrome surface in contact with whitemetal

Wire Wool Damage

 Hydrogen Blisters

Symptoms
Blister under the whitemetal layer
Can become visible following long periods
of storage or operation

Causes
Hydrogen within the mild steel diffuses out to
the bond line then becomes trapped, breaking
the mechanical bond

Corrective Actions
Degas steel prior to use through thermal or
vacuum treatment
Repair blistered surfaces
Avoid hydrogen sources during manufacture

Hydrogen Blisters
 Electrical Pitting

Symptoms
Numerous uniform pits concentrated in
discrete areas
Frosted appearance in pitted area
Pitting concentrated to areas with lowest oil film
thickness (least insulation)
Damage will be present on both the bearing
and shaft

Causes
Poor insulation allowing electrostatic arcing
between the shaft and bearing
Electromagnetic currents from rotating shaft
Water in oil or film cavitation disrupts insulating
effect of the oil

Corrective Actions
Grounding of shaft currents
Insulation of bearings
Replace lubrication oil and flush housing
to remove water content

Electrical Pitting
Pivot Damage / Fretting

Symptoms
Wear and erosion of contact surfaces
Discolouration around contact area
Cracks or fractures to highly loaded pivot point
Flattened pivot area

Causes
Fretting caused by vibration of machinery
Overload of pads
Insufficient pivot contact area to support load

Corrective Actions
Repair existing pivots
Reduce the load on the pivots or increase
the pivot radius to support higher loads
Minimise external vibrations

Pivot Damage / Fretting

 Typical Parameters

Type Typical Peripheral Typical Surface Stiffness /

Speeds Pressure Dampening

Plain Journal 0 30 m/sec 0.2 4.0 MPa *

bearing *****

Pressure Dam 0 40 m/sec 0.2 3.5 MPa **

bearing ****

Lemon Bored 25 70 m/sec 0.2 3.5 MPa **

bearing ****

Offset Bored 20 90 m/sec 0.2 3.5 MPa ***

bearing ****

Four lobed 30 90 m/sec 0.1 1.5 MPa ***

journal bearing *

Tilting journal 30 100 m/sec 0 3.0 MPa *****

pad bearing ****

Plain Journal Bearing Pressure Dam Bearing Lemon Bore Bearing

Four Lobe Bearing Offset Halves Bearing Tilting Journal Pads

Unit from Sum Number Unit to

in x 25.4 mm
ft x 0.3048 metres
1m (micron) 0 10-6m 39.37ins

in2 x 6.4516 cm2

cm2 x 100 mm2
in2 x 6.4516 mm2

tons x 2240 lbf

tons x 9.96 kN
kgf x 9.81 N
lbf x 4.45 N

kN x 224.8 lbf
kN x 102 Kgf
kN x 1000 N
kN x 100 daN
lb/in2 x 0.0703 Kg/cm2
lb/in2 x 6.895 kN/m2

MPa x 1000 KN/m2

MPa x 10.2 Kg/cm2
MPa x 145 lb/in2
bar x 100 kN/m2
bar x 14.5 lb/in2

hp x 0.745 kW

litres x 0.2642 U.S.gallons

litres x 0.22 gallons

ft/sec x 0.3048 m/sec

Unit Conversions
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